Biography/Memoir

Interdisciplinary Council on Psychedelic Research 2016

“All ICPR 2016 speakers are now on the website.” ​Good news for psychologists in the Netherlands: ICPR 2016 has been acknowledged as an official training program for psychologists by the NIP. Questions like ‘How can psychedelics be employed for therapeutic purposes?’, ‘In which ways can they be used to understand underlying brain mechanisms?’ and ‘What…

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Psychology

Stop the treatment industrial complex

“Mass incarceration is a moral abomination that must be acknowledged, repudiated and unraveled. Prison-like treatment facilities such as forensic psychiatric hospitals and civil commitment centers are also growing in both number and enrollment. Government statistics suggest that employment in these areas will increase by 22.8 percent by 2022.” …a new system has emerged that bears…

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Psychology

They are listening

In late 2015, Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, and Oregon Health Authority Director Lynne Saxton traveled the state to hear from adolescents, adults and families who have had difficulties accessing mental health and substance use disorder treatment in Oregon. They heard from approximately 550 consumers and family members over the course of seven town hall meetings…

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Anthropology

Women across the Americas incarcerated for minor, non-violent, drug-related crimes at an alarming rate

“In Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru, well over 60 percent of each country’s female prison population is incarcerated for drug-related crimes.” The policies that have led to this surge in imprisonment have torn apart families and crippled women’s abilities to find decent, legal employment once they have been released, perpetuating a vicious cycle of…

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Biography/Memoir

The global war on drugs has failed; it’s time for a new approach

“We must seriously consider shifting resources away from criminalizing tens of millions of otherwise law abiding citizens and more towards an approach based on health, harm-reduction, cost effectiveness, and respect for human rights.” The drug-free world so confidently predicted by supporters of the war on drugs is farther than ever from attainment. It’s time to…

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Politics

Diplomacy or denialism: World leaders heading towards monumental failure in tackling global drug problem at UN summit

“These member states will have no opportunity to debate the UNGASS Outcome Document because, bizarrely, the document is set to be agreed at the beginning of the meeting.” “Any proposed language that challenged the failings of the current system, or called for meaningful changes to the status quo, was systematically ignored, marginalised, vetoed, watered down,…

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Psychology

How LSD makes your brain one with the universe

“He imagines a future where psychedelics are commonly used to treat a range of conditions”. “[There could] be a peaceful room attractively fixed up with nice paintings, objects to look at, fresh flowers, a chair or recliner for the patient and two therapists in the room,” he muses. “A safe container for that individual as…

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Politics

It calls for a shift in global drug policy from emphasising criminalisation and punishment to health and human rights.

The letter signed by former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Switzerland and others, was made public yesterday in advance of a UN special session on the topic beginning April 19. It was released by the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. The letter says that for ­decades, governments have ­focused resources on repressing drug use, resulting…

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Science

LSD researcher explains brain scan study

Neuropsychopharmacology researcher Robin Carhart-Harris explains his LSD brain scan study and possible therapeutic uses of the drug. “We found that regions normally don’t talk to each other began to talk to each other much more. There was a much more global integration in the brain that was quite surprising.” Original Article (CNN):LSD Researcher explains brain…

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